I’ve been reading a lot about the correlation between cd4 and cd8 ratio as an indicator of disease. Right now I have a low cd4 cd8 ratio. Some doctors don’t seem to care about the ratio while others say it can determine inflammation and possible other disease manifestations .my ratio might be low due to the fact my blood work was done before I became undectable. In December I get my next blood test I’m hoping to see an improvement on the cd4 cd8 ratio now that I’m on biktarvy and have an… read more

I have had a catastrophic treatment failure in HIV leading to my CD4 cd8 ratio to be 0.25. all because doctors will not discuss matters of a hate conspiracy, I have been left for dead in my treatment pathology.

https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/what-to-know-abo...

Should the term "AIDS" be retired? I think @A myHIVteam Member might have mentioned this, but this is the first time I've seen it on Medscape.
Is AIDS just advanced HIV infection, or would eliminating the term give the impression that it's no longer a problem?

I checked my blood tests online and I saw that it was low at 0.4 for a long time now. Is that normal/good?

Not sure this question needs additional details, it's to the point already

I have been undetectable for nearly 6 months but never have had a cd4 above 170 and that was when I had a viral load of 500,000 !!! Not a typo. Technically this has kept me in the AIDS dx but zero symptoms. Even my ID doc is puzzled by it considering I have had zero symptoms in 1.5 years.

Anyone with similar viral load and cd4 discrepancies?
What does your doc say?

Ricky is the lookout for a South Bronx Crackhouse. He looks up and down the street, past decaying buildings, looking for customers and the police. Ricky’s 25 and looks 45. He’s an HIV+ crack addict. A black woman, who looks like a homeless, bag lady approaches Ricky. “They open,” she mutters. “Yeah. They slammin’ too!” Rick says. The skinny black woman hurries into the building. ”Bitch can suck a dick!” Rick says to me. “I hit that last week!” A big, black limousine with tinted windows pulls… read more

Someone that is negative asked me a question I didn't know how to answer. Are there folks that stay positive for life or does it all end with AIDS?

asking for a friend

HIV and AIDS are related, but they’re not the same
HIV is a virus. It may cause AIDS after you’ve been infected for several years and it’s weakened your immune system. Not everyone who has HIV will get AIDS. But the infection will advance to AIDS, usually in 10 to 15 years, if you don’t get treatment with antiretroviral drugs.

Many people with the virus don’t know they have it. Of the nearly 1.3 million people in the U.S. who have HIV, more than 160,000 haven’t been diagnosed and aren’t… read more